orange balloon, horses in the parking lot and other neat things..

This one is for you Madam Samm

Ever been in a balloon? Me neither, but it did look fun, especially after the hurricane blew through. (Read on!)

I saw these in the sky as I came out of the restaurant. So much fun! One actually landed in the field beside the road and dropped a guy and his bike off. He rode away down the country road, disappearing in the corn fields. Interesting mode of travel, the balloon...

Speaking of modes of travel...

I had trouble finding a parking spot. I eventually found one and had the exciting experience of shopping in an Amish hardware/grocery store. Wow. Lots of things there that were very useful. And the prices were good too.

 Of course, I had to visit my favorite bake shop and sample one or two of these. I brought a package home for husband as well. He loves these!

While I was there, the hurricane came through, or the edge of it. Never seen rain like that before! Absolutely Biblical! End result...massive flooding in the area which delayed my journey back home.

Harrisburg was under water and the Susquahanna river overflowed its banks to the extent that the way home was blocked. I eventually got out...just meant another day of shopping. :-)

I'm back home now after a wonderful journey. Sometimes getting away is absolutely necessary...it just makes coming home all that more special.

I'm off to the quilt studio...to see what I need to finish, and what new trouble I can get myself into!

Talk soon,

Ahhhh...Finally Someone Turned the Heat Off

...which means it is time for me to pull out the knitting basket. Don't you just love fall? I sure do. I like summer...but I love fall. I can finally open the windows in the house, air out the quilts, go for long walks, sip coffee without breaking into a sweat...and I could go on and on but I won't bore you to death.

Seriously...I used to knit all the time..before I discovered quilting back in the 80's. I was visiting a new blog today and was so inspired by what I saw that I am bringing this out to finish. Do you like it? It will keep me snuggly warm this winter.

Do you like the basket? I bought it at an outdoor market in Nairobi. It was made by the local women and it is made out of some kind of tree that they chew and make pliable for weaving. I bought a few of them. That was a trip to remember! And that's another day's post. The sweater pattern and wool are from Philosophers Wool...a wonderful place to visit if you are into knitting, or just like to dabble in it. Definitely worth the trip. 

After my walk today, I 'm going to finish the pickles. I got started the other day and completed the pickling of the beans, carrots and cauliflower. I love doing this...haven't done it in years and it felt good to "put up" some of the garden's offerings.

Enjoy your holiday Monday. What will you do today?



A Walk Through the Garden

I took a walk through my local garden centre the other day to see what was up...

The last time I was there, spring colours abounded. This time, it was apparent things were gearing up for late summer, fall type gardening.

Fall colours!

Fall wreaths ready to hang

A bouquet of fall offerings

A telling sign...fall is on its way!

I took lots of pictures. I'm going to load some of them into a colour generator so I can see exactly what colours are in the photo...a very useful tool for choosing colours to go into a quilt. I love using nature for inspiration.

If you have a photo you love and would like to see all the colours in the composition, possibly for inspiration for a quilt colour pallet, log on to www.cssdrive.com. Jinny Beyer also has a lot of information on her site about colour and quilting. 

I'm a Winner!

What a wonderful surprise this morning to open up my inbox and find a note from Madame Samm telling me I was a winner. I don't think I've ever won anything before!

I won a beautiful sewing basket stuffed with all kinds of goodies. I'm sure I can make use of every little thing in that basket. One can never have too many accoutrement for stitching and quilting!

Daily prizes by awesome sponsors...for quilters and non quilters alike. 

I can't wait to get my surprise in the mail! Thanks Madam Samm! Go to the website and take a look around. Sew much fun!

Passions & Pursuits: Wantobe Quilters!!!

Reminder!  Check this out. Lots of goodies, great instructional tuts, great excitement! A winner every day during the week! And lots of new quilters too! If you are a wantobe quilter, this one's for you. Just follow the instructions that I posted here. Good luck!

     Link below:
Passions & Pursuits: Wantobe Quilters!!!

Sunday

Sunday today. Church this morning. A coming together of the Body of Christ. We celebrate Him together in the midst of our everyday, ordinary lives.

We sing. We listen. We pray. We read Scripture. We listen. We sing. We pray. We celebrate at the Lord's table and remember His broken body and shed blood.

A sacred morning.

Then we disburse. We go off into the world. Into the noise, into the rush, into the unsacred.

Sunday is always a day of contrasts. Going from the sacred space we created in a time of worship, then walking back into the everyday, ordinary life I lead.

Sundays interrupt the everyday, ordinary flow of life and remind us there is more. Sunday's blessing is that the Christ in me can be taken into Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday...

A Day of Quilting

Ahhhh...a day of quilting with some special friends. Nothing quite like gathering with some friends and chatting and quilting. (except maybe having a day with grandkiddies :-)  )

Hope your day is as pleasant as I expect mine will be. Make the most of your day, wherever you are!

Another Road Trip Adventure

I think one of the highlights of my road trips has to be the drive down and the drive back. This time I needed some alone time so I took off to my favorite destination which is a 7 hour drive, give or take. I make sure I have something good to listen to. One time I downloaded all of Timothy Keller's sermons onto my Ipod and listened to a great series as I drove. This time I listened to Charles Price's "Abraham" series. Wonderful! And a great way to pass the time as I drive. The scenery was breathtaking, especially driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania .

I had a successful trip...should have stayed longer...wanna go back. So much I didn't make time for. I must make my next trip a week long.

Check out these two teachers. In my humble opinion, they are worth your time. They are not serving up the usual stuff.

Saturday Morning Coffee and Blog Hop

It has been so long since I last posted...about a month.

I've been busy with little blessings

and my sewing machine. I've been working on 5 - count 'em - 5 block of the month type quilts. This has been the year for BOM. I think next year I'll take a break.

In between my BOM's I've been working on a quilt for one of my favorite charities...should get down to my studio today and finish the top so I can get to quilting it.

And in between all this, I've been sorting through my cupboards, trying to decide whether or not stuff should stay or go. I have a few friends who are doing massive clean-outs. It's good for the heart...and the mind, I think.

Come to think of it, maybe my stash needs a clean-out. I'm sure the ladies who sew the cancer quilts could use a donation.

I'm off to the studio...stay cool!



Wantobe Quilters!!!

Calling all Wantobe Quilters?

"Hello friends and followers, I would love to welcome you

to a Wantobe Quilters Campaign over here.

They are having quilting supplies to giveaway 5 x a week for 12 weeks.

Supplies that will have you quilting

before you know it...From sewing machines to irons, to die cutters,

to mats, to rotary cutters, sewing baskets, scissors, batting, needles,

rolled sewing machine bags, patterns, books, magazines...everything

you could imagine to assist you in being a NEW Quilter.

Even if you are already part of this community you can win

quilting stuff too...Tuesday and Thursday are days for us..

All you have to do is give me your name and phone number

and email sew I can submit this to the organizer, because if you win

anything I can win something too.

All you have to do is be my follower and a follower

over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure....

That is all! There are over 49 Sponsors involved.

I am pretty excited to be part of this, sew should you.

I love being a QUILTER!

 

( p.s you will not be eligible to win anything if you do not register

with a blogger where you see this message)